Hockey Mums

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The AIHL is filled with many special people, especially the hockey Mum.

One hockey Mum in particular is so passionate and enthusiastic about the sport that she has coached, officiates games, watches her sons play in the AIHL, plays the game and helps develop junior players and officials.

Amongst doing a million other Mum things, Renata Manco is mother to sons Tomas and Lucas Manco and wife to AIHL official Ivan Manco.

Tomas plays for the Sydney Ice Dogs while Lucas plays for the Sydney Bears.

Renata jokes she needs a jersey where one side is Ice Dogs and one is Bears.

The Manco family hail from Slovakia, where ice hockey is the number one sport.

“Slovakia is a country where ice hockey is the number one sport like the rugby or cricket is here,” said Mrs Manco. “People grow up knowing everything about the sport.

“It is the sport that people love.”

When the Manco family moved to Australia in December of 2000 they decided where they were going to live should be central to all the ice rinks in Sydney.

“Ice hockey impacted our decision where we were going to live in Sydney.

“We wanted to live in the middle of all the rinks.”

They chose Blacktown.

Both of her sons began playing for the Blacktown Flyers, but after a year where the Flyers were the outstanding team, winning their games double figures to nil, the Manco’s moved to the Bears.

Ivan Manco began coaching and Tomas and Lucas joined the team, fostering competition against the Flyers in the spirit of developing skilled players.Tomas played for the Bears until moving to the Ice Dogs in 2007.

“I am happy my kids are playing for both teams,” she said. “I think they are quite different teams, of course.

“It was their choice to play for Dogs or Bears.

“I never ever told them you had to have to play for that team or that team.

“It was their choice.

“They had to look at what is better for them? Where do you live? What is the closest rink?

“Now it is up to you.”

Renata is an enthusiastic representative of the sport of ice hockey.

She loves to watch all levels of hockey and loves to create atmosphere at games.

“We had a little bit of trouble at the beginning when we came here,” she recalls. “We had the horns and the drums because that is normal in my country where hockey is number one.

“The people don’t sit quietly.

“When we came here everybody was sitting quietly watching ice hockey.

“I realised people didn’t really understand what was going on on the ice – the beauty of ice hockey!

“The beauty of the passing, team work, the beauty of the goalie when he makes a great save, the beauty of the skating because even the skating, that’s a skill you can be amazed by.

“I was sitting with them explaining the rules, they can do this!

“They can’t do this!

“So at the beginning people were telling me I can’t make noise but ice hockey is about noise!”

Renata won’t have to choose an Ice Dogs or a Bears game to watch today as both teams don’t have another game until next weekend.

Instead, today on Mother’s Day, Renata will put on pads and a jersey to play the game herself.Renata will play for Sydney women’s team, the Emperor’s.

And in true spirit of the game, Renata chose the team, not because they were the best, but because they needed the extra player.

“When I went to watch them play I only saw seven ladies on the ice trying to hold on to three periods for 15 minutes.

“It was heartbreaking!”

Renata is one of many hockey mums who deserve a great Mother’s Day today.

And hopefully a big win by your favourite team!